1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet print head with an integrated ink handling unit that comprises a heater and a filter for the ink. The present invention further relates to an ink jet printing method using such a print head.
2. Description of Background Art
Print heads with such an integrated ink handling unit have heretofore been known only for hot-melt printers, which use an ink that is solid at room temperature and needs to be heated in order to be liquefied and capable of being processed in a drop forming unit of the print head. The hot melt ink is supplied, for example, in the form of pills that are melted in the heater of the ink handling unit.
EP 1 760 124 A1 and WO 2007/025893 A1 disclose inks that can take the form of a gel at ambient temperature. In order to supply this ink to the print head and to jet it out, the ink must be de-gelled, e.g. by heating the entire printer or at least the entire ink handling system.